Wednesday, 29 May 2013

It's always the best laid plans that go awry isn't it? I had this post in draft with the html coding for the linky and everything set up. All I needed to do was add in a bit of text and my photos and be good to go---well of course the freaking iPad app didn't want to upload pictures and what good is What I Wore Wednesday if I didn't have any photos! So apologies for the late post!Since I'm a Mommy and not a Mummy we celebrate Mother's Day in May when the USA does and I was spoiled this year as NotBlondeHusband took me away for a mini break in Perthshire! Blondie Boy's Grandma and her husband watched BB and the Emma dog so we could have a quiet break just us two and it is just what we needed!That being said we were woken up at 2am on our first night by the fire alarm and had to evacuate the hotel in our PJs! There was an actual fire and we stood outside in the middle of the night (luckily it wasn't raining) while we waited for the fire trucks to arrive. Not exactly an ideal start but we did have a good time just the two of us wandering around Perthshire and taking a wee drive into the Highlands. We'd come back from sightseeing for a soak and a schwitz (hot tub and steam) which was super relaxing! I won't bore you with holiday photos and to be honest I don't have tons because the batteries in my camera died (and my iPhone is randomly shutting down when I try to take a photo), luckily right after we got this photo at Queen's View.

I got this Rainbow Maxi dress at TK Maxx over a year ago but have for unknown reasons only just started wearing it! I also gave myself a ring finger/statement manicure before we left. I saw Kat von D (don't hate) instagram her nails with a silver glitter ring finger and black nails and loved it. I couldn't find my black so I did dark gray instead. I'm really starting to get ridiculously bored with my hair and considering a pony tail perm. Am I crazy? Do perms always end badly?

Sunday, 26 May 2013

I'm super excited that I will be attending BritMums Live this year thanks to my fabulously fizzy friends SodaStream! We loved partnering up with them earlier this year to review and give away a SodaStream so I'm super excited to be working with them again! So let's get to the Meet & Greet!

Name: Online I'm Blondie or Melaina25. It's fun to guess my real name just ask Kate who genuinely thought I might be called Randy or Tiffany (I'm neither).

Is this your first blogging conference?: No this is at least my 5th depending on what counts as a conference! Look at the photo I posted on my Meet & Greet for the original CyberMummy--how tiny was Blondie Boy!

Are you attending both days?: Yup!

What are you most looking forward to at BritMums Live 2013?: Meeting friends old and new and I spied a feminist session that I can't wait to learn more about! I think Katy Piper will be a fab keynote, too. I've sorta fallen out of love with blogging for a number of reasons and I'm hoping to have my faith in blogging and blogging community restored.

What are you wearing?: Not sure yet but the pressure is on since I'm a Best Style Finalist in the BiBs! Eek! Chances are whatever I wear I'll have flip flops in my bag to swap into because that is how I roll!

What do you hope to gain from BritMums Live 2013?:

I really want to finally make a photography session; I've managed to miss one at every conference and I have no idea how to use my camera! I'd say new friends but I don't "hope" for that I know that will happen-yay!

Tell us one thing about you that not everyone knows:

I was a child model from the age of 3-13; so the fact that I pose for every photo isn't *really* my fault! It might also be why Blondie Boy enjoys photo shoots so much :)

Are you going? If you see me grab and say "hi!" I promise I don't bite unless you're holding a Krispy Kreme and then I might take one of your fingers off :) Two years ago I spent longer than comfortable staring at Cherry Healey trying to figure out how I knew her before I later realized I only *knew* her from TV so I'm sometimes hesitant to make the first move!

Wednesday, 22 May 2013

I'm pretty sure I've mentioned it before but I LOVE a bargain. The only thing I love more than getting a bargain for myself is getting one for Blondie Boy so naturally I freaking love Zulily. For those not in the know Zulily is an online store offering daily sales events on top-quality apparel, gear and other goodies for moms, babies and kids. Membership is FREE and members enjoy savings of up to 90% off retail prices! Score!The fab team at Zulily listened to my nonsense about how Blondie Boy is as rock and roll as a three year old gets and that hats were to boy moms what tutus are to girl moms and sent over this AMAZING outfit for my little dude.

Kids Trapper Hat- Atlantis Kids

Softshell Jacket- Regatta

Kids Star Wars R2D2 Tee

Jeans- Autograph (model's own)

Loafers-Timbaland

How cool does his look? Yes I'm biased but I love this outfit! I really hate boring or naff kids clothes so I love that Zulily has funky clothes you wouldn't find on the high street at a reduced price. Blondie Boy loves his t-shirt so much he insisted on wearing it to bed tonight, too. If you'd like to join Zulily it is free and you can access all of their amazing limited offer deals in both the US and UK! Do you subscribe to daily deal sites? Are you a weirdo like me about what you'll let your kids wear?

Transatlantic Blonde was provided an outfit for review but all opinions are our own. Have you ever tried to get a three year old to wear and pose in something they didn't like?

Wednesday, 15 May 2013

Hi. My name is Blondie and I'm addicted to Pinterest. If you've not heard of Pinterest before have you been living under a rock it is basically a virtual mood board but instead of just cutting out an image for inspiration it then links to the actual item--so that shirt you love? Click--you can buy it. That delicious looking dessert? Click--here's the recipe to make it. Super cool kid's crafts? Click--here is how you can do it with your little one. It is a great place to get new ideas and to store ones you already have.One of my favourite boards is my "Don't Hate Me Cause I'm Beautiful" Board. First of all I'm not stuck-up I'm just referencing a Kelly LeBrock commercial from the 80's--yes I guess I'm old because no one else remembers! Anyway some of my favourite pins include:

I love my Naked Palette and I love that I can search on Pinterest and find tutorials of how to use it in new ways. This pin in particular tells me exactly which shadow to put where and I don't even need to click through to find out how to do it! Score!

I've had hot rollers for a while but I literally had no idea how to use them. My Mom has SUPER curly hair so funnily enough she didn't teach me how to use hot rollers! I love step-by-step hair for dummies type pins. Foolproof!

Of course I have to keep it real sometimes so of the beauty tutorials are insane! Sweet Brown says it all- Ain't Nobody Got Time for That! Some people have a lot more time on their hands than I ever could for doing my nails lol.Pinterest is also great for finding new blogs and bloggers so as part of the Pin it Forward campaign I'd like to introduce y'all to Jennifer from Mum of One!

She has so many amazing boards from Cooking Toddler-Style (can you say rainbow candy apples?) to Things I Covet (who wouldn't covet Kate Spade hot pink capped flats?) her Pinterest boards have something for everyone!Are you on Pinterest? If so leave your link so we can all follow back and if not why not sign-up? It's free and I promise you won't be disappointed. For those on Pinterest what's been your favourite pin find so far?

Wednesday, 8 May 2013

So basically since Friday I've been a hot mess. I've caught some sort of crud and I just can't shift it. This is literally the first time I've left quarantine the guest bedroom since then. I've been really lucky that NBH has been looking after Blondie Boy and when he is at work his Mum and Dad have been watching him. Hopefully I can shake this thing sooner rather than later! So for What I Wore Wednesday this week I'm sharing my Top Three looks from the 2013 Met Ball.For those who don't know the Met Ball is an annual ball that celebrates the annual opening of the Metropolitan Museum's fashion exhibit at the Costume Institute. It's never a boring red carpet and this year the theme was "Punk: Chaos to Couture." So I picked not just my favourite looks but my favourite looks that followed the theme.

Sienna Miller in Burberry

Photo from Vogue.com

I love that studded jacket and it works so well styled with the white gown. Normally I'm not a huge fan of Sienna Miller but I think her look just exemplifies how to follow a theme but still look elegent and trendy.

Anne Hathaway in vintage Valentino

Photo from Vogue.com

I think the hair, sheer dress and her smug smirk totally make this work. I think if you deconstructed it all I'm not sure they'd stand on their own but togetehr it totally works.

Cara Delevingne in Burberry

Photo from Vogue.com

I'm a sucker for studs and I love how this is on trend and on theme but isn't too over the top. I know the Met Ball is known for over the top (see SJP and Madonna's looks this year) but I don't think you should go over the top just for the sake of it. I much prefer the elegant edge Burberry brought to this.You can view all of the looks from the red carpet in Vogue's gallery. There were a lot of interesting choices (did you see Kim Kardashian looking like she'd been upholstered by Laura Ashley?) and some looks that were nice but just had nothing to do with the theme. Who got your best dressed nod?

I also want to say THANK YOU to everyone who nominated me for the BIBs this year; I've been shortlisted for Best Style Blog! I really appreciate all of your help and I'd love it, if you want, if you'd vote for me to be a finalist! Just vote for "Transatlantic Blonde" in Style (#12) in the survey before May 12th. Thank you!

Wednesday, 1 May 2013

I like to think that Blondie Boy is a trendy little dude; I know I don't let him wear just anything and I'd hope that he would turn his nose up at certain styles too. We are both big fans of Next Children's clothing so when Collective Bias™ asked us to head to Next to check out the children's clothes on offer we jumped at the chance.

I'm a big fan of Next as their clothes wear quite well but are also stylish; I love that their boy's clothes tend to be mini (but appropriate) versions of adult men's fashion trends. I'm not sure about the US but statement tee-shirts are huge in the UK right now. Basically it's just a tee shirt with one word across the front in a varsity style font.

I loved the dude tee. When I was probably about 8 in Ohio I desperately wanted to be a Valley Girl and said stuff like "Gag me with a credit card and put me into layaway" so dude has been part of my vocabulary for a long time. Unfortunately they didn't have Blondie Boy's size in stock when I visited so I'll just have to pop back again later to see if it comes in stock.

Honestly shopping for boy's clothes there usually aren't a lot of great options but I was spoiled for choice; look at how many shoes there were alone! There were so many options to choose from I was overwhelmed! I finally decided that I'd go with another current fashion trend that is also my favourite decade: the 90's. Short floral dresses, ripped jeans and high-tops (okay they are wedged now) have made a come back so I decided to put a twist on the 90's with Blondie Boy's look:

Doesn't he look like he fell out of a Kevin Smith movie? I LOVE this Nirvana t-shirt. First of all both NotBlondeHusband and I are big Nirvana fans (Blondie Boy is more into Pearl Jam for now who I also love) but I love that Blondie Boy can be a mini rocker. I chose the dark wash jeans for no other reason than I wear dark wash so he can too! The flannel shirt and backwards cap just give it that extra grunge feel.Poor Blondie Boy; he's been asking me to do a photo-shoot on the front porch every day before school recently but I couldn't understand why he seemed so grumpy for this one. Normally he's a mega poser and break dancing; turns out he's sick and has been running a fever on and off since. Poor kid no wonder he looks pissed off!While this is the outfit I picked there were so many other clothes I could have bought if Blondie Boy's closet wasn't already over-flowing. You can see all of my favourites from the Boy's section in my Next #CBias Google + album! Where do you normally shop for clothes for your children? Do you follow fashion or prefer to stick to practicality? What do you think generally about fashion trends for kids?

I am a member of the Collective Bias™ Social Fabric® Community. This content has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias® #CBias #SocialFabric. All opinions are my own; don't y'all know by now I only speak the truth?